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Good Floorcraft and Beautiful Dancing

I'm not writing this just to balance the earlier post about floorcraft - I am writing it so that those who don't dance in Sydney, Australia - and those who do - know that we are capable of good floorcraft. Last night I went to a milonga held on one of the most beautiful floors in Sydney. The Bexley RSL has a parquet ballroom floor which has been kept in excellent condition and it is beautiful to dance on. (Visiting teacher Anibal Montenegro remarked on it to me - and I am sure he's seen some great floors!)
And the floor flowed with some very elegant and precise dancing, not just from Anibal and his Sydney partner Hosanna but also from some of Sydney's good dancers, who were clearly enjoying the music of resident DJ, Pedro. Even the boleos I saw executed were done with elegance and the multiple enrosques did not slow up the line of dance. I am a bit wary of complimenting any one dancer after reading Irene and Man Yung's blog on compliments! So suffice it to say that last night the floor dynamics worked well and I did not see one woman limp away after being kicked or one man scowl at the other dancers around him!
Good floorcraft is like good driving, it requires skill and concern for others on the floor/road - and that is what we saw last night.

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This year's Milongueando in Buenos Aires in August is the 9th. An encuentro (meeting) rather than a Festival in the sense of great maestros and exotic performances. The organisers Susanna Miller and Maria Plazaola state on their website that "Everyone can dance milonguero-style tango. ...we teach students to enjoy the natural movement of the body and the dialogue that takes place in harmony with one's partner".
One of the teachers at this year's festival is Horacio Julian Prestamo. For those who love the milonguero-style of tango here is a fascinating interview - and a dance performance.

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The film's promotion reads: "María Nieves Rego (80) and Juan Carlos Copes (83) met as teenagers, and danced together for nearly fifty years. Now, Juan and María are willing to open up about their love, their hatred, and their passion.
Our Last Tango bridges the gap between generations, as Juan and Maria tell their story to a group of young tango dancers and choreographers from Buenos Aires, who transform the most beautiful, moving and dramatic moments of Juan and Maria’s lives into incredible tango-choreographies."
Find out about the screening at the Casula Powerhouse here
National screenings:
VICCinema Nova
NSWPalace Chauvel
QLDNew Farm Cinemas
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A homage to Carlos Gavito will be the focus of the Encuentro Milonguero, Milongueando in Buenos Aires in 2016. Gavito was born in 1942 and by the time of his death in 2005 had become a tango legend. He worked with Juan Carlos Copes, but it was his role in the travelling show 'Forever Tango' that brought him to the world's attention. In this video he dances with Maria Plazaola who is one of the organisers and teachers at Milongueando.